Proposed Attendance Policy School Year

 Bloomfield High School adopted the policy starting the school year  BHS student attendance has increased by 60%  Communication between BHS and parents has increased  Student learning has improved  Policy is NOT punitive (No ISS or office referrals) Students have ownership

BLOOMFIELD HIGHKIRTLAND HIGH  Before the new policy BHS had 750 students with unexcused absences (1 st semester )  Currently, BHS has 11 students with unexcused absences  1 st semester school year – had 798 students with unexcused absences  263 had unexcused absences in 5 or more classes  135 students on “No Credit” list  276 students with 4 or more tardies

CURRENTPROPOSED  Students can have up to 15 excused days per semester totaling 30 allowed days of missed instruction  Add 15 allowable absences for school activities and a student can miss 45 days of instruction!  Parents can verify 3 excusable absences per quarter. Four or more excused absences or any unexcused absence must be made up in Attendance School.

CURRENTPROPOSED  4 -7 tardies equals lunch detention in increasing numbers  8-9 tardies equals 1-2 days ISS  10+ tardies equals Office Referral  99 students currently have 8+ tardies  Allowed 2 tardies per class before time must be made up in Attendance School

 To earn credit, a student must attend school on a regular basis. If a student has four (4) or more excused absences(s) or three (3) or more tardies per class per quarter that are not made- up, the student will receive no grade ( NG ) for the quarter grade in that class.

 Absences are made up either in subject -specific sessions or during general Saturday sessions  A full day absence requires 4 full attendance sessions or 1 full Saturday session  25 minutes of either a general or subject- specific attendance session is required for each tardy

CURRENT POLICY  Punitive  Perceived as a negative thing that is “imposed” upon students and parents  Requires large amounts of time to enforce  Loopholes create inconsistencies  Creates conflict between parents and staff  Decreases motivation of students  Creates feelings of hopelessness in students and deflates self esteem

PROPOSED POLICY  Allows the student and parents to take ownership  Allows administrators and teachers to focus on instruction  Removes “discipline” element from attendance issues  Exemplifies direct correlation between regular attendance and student academic success  Student accountable for engaged learning time which should build self esteem  Provides choices for students so feelings of hopelessness and failure don’t become an issue  Student receives direct instruction from a qualified instructor  Focuses on Positive Behavior in Schools (PBIS) initiatives to encourage student attendance  KCHS Parent Advisory Committee approved  San Juan County Truancy Task Force Team approved  KCHS leadership team approved

 Be positive  Give students ownership  Give students and parents choices  Increase student time with a certified instructor  Increase student academic success  Boost student self esteem